Last week Year 9 pupils enjoyed their second visit from researchers at the University of Birmingham to analyse the particle traps that have been hung around school since the end of October.
We recapped what air particles are, why we are interested in them and how they can affect people’s health by getting into their lungs and even bloodstream. After a brief practice at using the mini microscopes people were then able to analyse their samples, counting the number of particles that were trapped on their grids and calculating a mean value.
We hung traps in history and art, science rooms, the canteen, reprographics and DT and results are shared below (as many staff have been asking!)
What impressed staff most was the number of pupils who used the workshop as a fresh look at science and asked intelligent questions and reflected critically on our method, suggesting ways we could improve the validity of our results.
Many thanks to all the staff who supported the day by covering classes and supporting sessions, providing our guests with refreshments and hosting our traps in your classrooms and well done to all Year 9 who made the most of this exciting opportunity.
